A Panama-flagged cargo ship broke apart over the weekend on the West Coast. Severe weather has hindered a thorough assessment of the damage and extent of an oil spill from the vessel, with potential impacts on nearby fishing grounds, estuaries and islands supporting threatened species of seabirds.

Listen to this article 7 min Listen to this article 7 min The MV Ultra Galaxy beached on its side in a remote area of the West Coast in early July during a severe storm. It broke apart at the weekend, battered by more stormy seas, causing an oil spillage.

The fertiliser cargo aboard the ship has dissolved into the ocean, with its white carrier bags washing ashore on nearby beaches.

Before the vessel broke apart, several lube oil drums and eight tonnes of marine gas oil were removed from it.

The spokesperson for the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa), Tebogo Ramatjie, said their focus was now on preventing the remainder of the fuel from spilling into the sea and then safely removing the wreck.

"That requires planning because now we are working with a vessel that broke apart on Friday. It changes a lot of things. We are going to have to sit down and plan again about how to then remove [the wreck]. We need to remove the fuel as safely as possible and as quickly as possible, and then eventually remove the wreck from the beach," he said.

Samsa said attempts were being made to contain...